


Ashes and Dust

by Cinder



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-07-28 06:36:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7628818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinder/pseuds/Cinder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Erin Gilbert, life is complicated in the aftermath of the Rowan incident. Not only is she having disturbing nightmares, but she’s struggling to figure out her feelings for Holtzmann. But her problems will have to wait until she helps save the world. Again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Ghostbusters (although I wish I did).

_A pale yellow sky hovered above a world destroyed. She stood in the center of where it had begun, of where all the destruction and chaos had radiated out from._

_There were no buildings or people or even nature left in the place that had once been known as New York. There was nothing left, as far as her eyes could see. And she knew that it was the same way throughout the world. She could walk for years, and this would be the only sight that she would ever see. A pale yellow sky with cracked gray ground beneath her feet._

_All that was left were dust and ashes._

_It was beautiful._

Erin woke up to see Holtzmann looking down on her. The younger woman was poking her in the forehead with one hand, while holding a still flaming blowtorch with the other.

“I’m guessing Chinese food doesn’t go well with your naps?” Holtzmann said, pointing to Erin’s face. Erin felt her face, realizing that a chopstick was sticking to it. Around her were the scattered remains of her dinner, which she had messed up when she had fallen asleep.

“No, no, it was just…nothing,” Erin said, unsticking the chopstick from her face. “Maybe just too much work.” She rubbed her face with her hands and looked around. “Where is everyone?”

“They left hours ago; it’s 2 AM.” Holtzmann returned to a table stocked with gadgets. Several were whirring and beeping, while one was rattling ominously.

“Then what are you still doing here?” Erin asked.

“Sleep is for the weak,” Holtzmann replied, her eyes alight with a manic energy.

“Right…” Erin staggered to her feet. When she nearly face planted onto the floor, she said: “Listen, do you mind if I take the spare cot? I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it home without passing out on the subway.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay up?” Holtzmann waggled her eyebrows and fired up the blowtorch once more. “We could have a lot of fun.”

“I’m good,” Erin backed away, smiling slightly. She left Holtzmann dancing and soldering, lost in her own world.

*

The small room off the lab had been conceived as a overnight room, complete with mini fridge and beds for the women to bunk down in. So far, all they had was one cot that had a 70% chance of collapsing whenever anyone laid down on it. The Ghostbusters had all been so busy working that they hadn’t had time yet to find any more supplies for the room.

Erin laid down on the bed, taking deep breaths. These dreams didn’t mean anything. They were just a stress-produced result of everything she had gone through in the past few months. Finding out that ghosts were real. Realizing she wasn’t crazy. Stopping an apocalypse. Going through an honest to God portal where only ghosts lived. Realizing that her new job for the convincible future was hunting ghosts. Anyone would be stressed out by that. Giddy, sure, but also a total mind fuck, excuse her language.

She just had to get a good night’s sleep, maybe stop the late nights for just a few days. That was all.

_Screams echoed in the night air, stopping as quickly as they started. The purging was going quickly, and she was almost a little disappointed. She had hoped for a better fight, maybe just a little struggle. For a race that had lasted for so many years, she would have thought humanity would put up a better fight._

_Even their so called protectors…_

_She looked down at the ground, where scattered equipment lay on the ground. Bits of orange and brown lay around them as well, ripped and soaked with blood._

_She took a step closer, heard a crunch, and looked down._

_The shattered remains of googles lay at her feet. She kicked them aside._

“No!” Erin bolted up, breathing heavily.

Okay, so maybe these dreams weren’t an ordinary, explainable reaction to the previous circumstances. But still, she could handle this. So she was having some freaky dreams. Absolutely nothing she couldn’t handle with a little more sleep. She threw herself back down on the cot, closing her eyes.

The cot collapsed at her sudden movement, sending her crashing to the floor.

“Crap.”


	2. Chapter 1

“Erin, that’s your fifth cup of coffee today,” Abby said, looking up from her notebook.

“Actually, it’s her eighth.” Holtzmann said, shrugging when Erin shot her an irritated glance. “She was chugging it before you guys got here. I put different stuff in it to see if she’d notice - she didn’t,” she chuckled. “You drank coffee with tabasco powder in it.” 

“It’s only 10 AM,” Abby said. “Erin, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Erin said. “Just…had a hard time getting to sleep last night.” As if she was going back to sleep after that nightmare. She had laid on the floor (the cot refused to be fixed), not wanting to go back out and face Holtzmann’s inevitable questions. At the reminder of her late night, she took another huge gulp of coffee.

“Maybe you should slow down,” Patty suggested, lifting the cup out of Erin’s hands. “There was a guy who worked the late shift at the MTA, and he drank coffee every hour, every day. Then one day he drank too much, got too hyper, and ran off into the tunnels on a bet. Last we heard, he’s still living there.” Off of Erin’s incredulous look, Patty added, “True story.” 

“Well, I’m not about to run off into the subway tunnels, I just want to get through today without passing out. And anyway, I’m getting Kevin trained on how to properly make and deliver coffee. He didn’t even drink out of the last cup!” Erin bragged. 

“Actually, I did.” Kevin appeared over her shoulder. “Wanted to make sure I got it right. One black coffee, no sugar.” 

“There was sugar in it.”

“That was me,” Holtzmann laughed. “I put a bunch of sugar in here.” She held up a canister. “I got you again.” She peered into the canister. “At least I think it’s sugar…” 

While Holtzmann tried to figure out if she had poisoned Erin, Abby spoke up. “We got a 11:00 consultation today over in Brooklyn. Little old lady says her next door neighbor has been acting weird, thinks he’s possessed by a ghost. From the way she talked over the phone, I’d say she’s on the right track.” 

“Let’s suit up,” Patty said, while Holtzmann added, “Erin, do you think you could make yourself throw up? Cause I think that might be a good idea now…”

*

One hour later, the group was standing in front of an old, rundown apartment building. Ancient, creepy, historical, it looked like an ideal haunting place.

“Alright Patty, give us the rundown,” Abby said, as they walked up the steps.

“Actually, not much here. For an old as hell building, there nothing really interesting ever happened here. Sure, there were a few deaths but they all seem natural. No famous occupants ever lived here. Heck, I can’t even find anything about this building in books, cause nothing ever really goes on here.” 

“Oh.” Abby looked slightly disappointed. “No murders happened here? No convicts ever stayed here?” Then she got excited. “Wait - do you think maybe a crime was covered up here? Like what happened in the Aldridge mansion?”

“Don’t sound so excited about it,” Erin said. 

“Why not? What’s a little murder between friends?” Holtzmann exclaimed cheerfully, slinging an arm around Erin’s shoulders.

“You don’t get to talk to me,” Erin muttered.

“What? Why not?”

“Because you thought you poisoned me.”

“Yeah, but it turned out to be sugar.”

“You only found that out when I had already vomited out my breakfast.” 

“Well, if you want to get all picky about it…” 

“Anyways…” Patty said loudly, interrupting their whispered fight, “I really don’t think anything bad ever went down here. I checked everything, even if any of the deaths were cover-ups,” she added, before Abby could talk again, “and nothing. It’s a weird place to get haunted.” 

“Maybe a ghost is haunting this building cause it’s so boring,” Holtzmann said. “Trying to liven it up a bit.” She chuckled when she realized she had made a pun. 

“Well, only one way to find out.” Abby knocked on an apartment door, and a tiny, wizened woman opened it. “Mrs. Webster? I’m Abby Yates, we spoke on the phone.”

“Oh yes.” The woman opened her door wider, and let them all come in. Once they were all settled in, and the woman had offered them cookies (Holtzmann had promptly taken three and shoved them all in her mouth at once), Mrs. Webster began to speak.

“Adam was such a quiet boy, and I never had any trouble from him in the three years we’ve been neighbors. He didn’t like to talk much, and he didn’t seem to be home often, but again, he never caused any trouble. But a week ago, Adam suddenly started acting strangely.”

“In what ways?” Abby asked, as Holtzmann grabbed another couple of cookies. 

“He became…peculiar. He started insulting other tenants, and even began hurting others. When my Vinnie,” she pointed to a cat that was winding its way around Patty’s ankles, “got in his way, he kicked it!” 

“That’s awful, but I don’t think that means he’s possessed -“

“Also, I saw his head spin completely around once. I probably should have started with that.” 

“We’ll check it out,” Abby said. “You said he lives right next door?”

“Yes, on the right.” The woman stood up to lead them out. “You girls be careful over there. I’d hate for Adam to hurt you.”

“Don’t worry, we’re trained professionals.” Erin said, her words slightly undercut by the sight of Holtzmann leaving the apartment, carrying as many cookies as she could. 

*

Over the next week, the group tried everything they could think of to find Adam. They had watched the apartment building for days, but no one matching Adam’s description had ever shown up. They went to his place of work, where his boss told them that he hadn’t been in for five days. He also asked them to tell Adam he was fired when they found him. Abby had filed a Missing Persons report with the NYPD for good measure, but the police agreed to let the Ghostbusters work the case when Abby mentioned that Adam was probably possessed. 

Their leads all exhausted and with no other info to go off of, Erin was starting to get frustrated. It didn’t help that she was running almost entirely on caffeine, as she was trying to get as little sleep as possible. Every time she closed her eyes, she had another awful dream. Part of her thought about telling the group, but she didn’t want them to worry about her. There was nothing about the dreams that they really needed to know, it was just her stress manifesting itself in an extremely frustrating, creepy, and unhelpful way. 

Still, she couldn’t stop her friends from worrying about her entirely. Patty was repeating the story about the crazed subway coffee drinker daily now, Abby was taking a tally of how many cups of coffee she was drinking, and even Holtzmann had stopped adding weird stuff to her cups and was acting worried. She was now attempting to get Erin to sleep more by hiding the coffee pot. When that didn’t work, she’d run around the office with the coffee pot, trying to outrace Erin.

“Give. It. Back.” Erin snapped, chasing after Holtzmann. 

It was lots of fun for Holtzmann, not so much for Erin. 

“Never!” Holtzmann replied, leaping over a table and running behind Kevin. Kevin, thrilled to be included in the game, acted as a human wall for Holtzmann that Erin tried in vain to move. Holtzmann darted around the office, trying to find a place that Erin couldn’t get to. Finally, she tossed it out the window. The sound of shattering glass made her straighten up proudly. “It won’t hurt you anymore.” 

“We won!” Kevin said, thrilled.

Abby, who was reading a book and hadn’t look up during the whole fight, said, “It really isn’t good to be drinking that much coffee Erin.” 

“I hate you all,” Erin moaned, slumping down on the floor. 

Patty entered the room. “Who the hell tossed a coffee pot out the window? It nearly hit me.” 

Holtzmann tried to casually duck under a table. She failed, mainly because there was no casual way to hide under a table. 

Patty sighed and shook her head. “All right, whatever. More importantly, I’ve got a lead on Adam’s whereabouts.” 

“Really?” Abby said.

Patty nodded. “A friend from the MTA said they saw bright blue lights in the tunnels a few days ago. They went into the tunnel, but after a minute they heard these eerie whispers and got out of there. They remember how I told everyone about the first ghost, the one electrocuted one in the subway, and realized they probably had another ghost on their hands.” 

“So they didn’t see any sign of Adam?” Erin asked.

“No, but if there’s a ghost possessed dude looking to hide out, the subway is a good place to be.” 

“It’s definitely a lead. And even if Adam isn’t there, we need to capture this ghost if it’s living in the subway tunnels,” Abby said. “Let’s suit up.”


	3. Chapter 2

Even if they were haunted by a malevolent ghost, Erin couldn’t help but be happy to go back to the subway tunnels. They were the location of the team’s first mission, even if technically they hadn’t been a team yet. She was fond of the place, even if it was running rampant with rats and had the a strong smell of urine in the air.

“Ahhh, our old hunting grounds,” Holtz said, twirling her proton wand through her fingers. “I’ve missed them.”

“I don’t know if finding the ghost will be as easy as last time,” Patty warned them as they set off into the tunnels. “This place is huge, and if Adam really isn’t looking to be found, we could be down here for days.”

“Well, at least we’ll get to explore,” Abby offered, attempting to find a bright side. “This is place is one huge, cool maze.” She sniffed and frowned. “Except it smells like a toilet and is covered in rats.”

“I shall make friends with the rats and use them to do my bidding. They’ll find Adam for us in no time,” Holtzmann said.

“See, the sad part is I can’t even tell if you’re joking anymore,” Patty said.

Erin giggled and Holtzmann winked at her. The physicist suddenly felt her cheeks grow warm and found staring at the rail covered ground interesting.

The group continued into the tunnels, weapons at the ready. Patty had mapped out a route for them based on abandoned subway stations near their starting point. If Adam was hiding in the tunnels, odds were good he’d be camping out in an abandoned station. Sure enough, when they got close to the first location on Patty’s map, they saw a mysterious blue glow.

“Get ready,” Abby warned them.

Their proton packs at the ready, the women all walked into the abandoned station. It was only once the station came into view that Erin realized they had seriously underestimated the situation.

It wasn’t just one ghost that had taken up residence in the area, it was dozens. They were drifting around, murmuring, whispering, snarling. In the center of the ghosts were several humans, their faces bathed in the blue light from the ghosts. The humans were simply staring up at them, awestruck. Adam was in the center of the group.

“Oh shit,” Holtzmann whispered, a hand going to her sidearm.

“You read my mind exactly,” Patty said.

“Okay, we need to work quickly and carefully,” Abby said. “Aim for the ghosts.” She paused. “Obviously.”

Just as the group was about to move into action, Adam stepped forward. He opens his arms wide and intoned, “I accept the great blessing before me.” Before anyone could do anything, a ghost shot from its group and into him. His body flew back, hitting the wall. When he straightened up, it was clear that he was a completely different person.

“What the hell are they doing?” Patty said, looking horrified.

Just as the words left her mouth, a young woman came forward from the group. She too opened her arms and repeated “I accept the great blessing before me”, and another ghost shot forward to possess her.

“We gotta shut this down,” Abby said. As a third person approached the ghosts, the Ghostbusters ran forward.

“Everybody stay calm,” Abby said, as the ghosts and humans noticed her presence. “You -“ She gestured with her proton wand to the circle of ghosts, “move away from the living.”

The ghosts snarled, looking furious at being interrupted. They weren’t the only ones. The human group began to shout abuse at them. They crowded closer together as the ghosts closed tighter around them. The two possessed humans stalked forward, their eyes never leaving Erin and her group.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Patty said, over the shouts of the human/ghost group. Before she could say anything more, the possessed Adam launched himself at her. She held up her proton wand, shielding herself from the attack. But Adam got right back to his feet and began throwing punches at her, causing her to back up. She attempted to hit him right back, but he ducked her blows with unnatural speed. Abby ran forward to help her, only to have the possessed woman jump on her back and attempt to throttle her. Before Erin and Holtzmann could help, the ghosts, as if on cue, all launched themselves at the women in a blue wave.

Erin and Holtzmann turned to the ghosts, trying to shield the fighting Abby and Patty. Erin grabbed her proton shotgun and started firing it off into the crowd at random, causing bursts of blue light to flare up whenever she destroyed a ghost. There were so many it was impossible not to hit something.

Holtzmann had opted to run forward, her proton pistols at the ready, taking whichever ghost was closest. Erin redirected her aim to any ghost that got too close to Holtzmann, keeping them off her back. Behind her, she could hear shouts from Patty and Abby. Still, they seemed to be winning, right until a rock slammed into Holtzmann’s head.

Erin glanced over and saw that the humans were throwing whatever rocks they could find at her friends. The first rock hit Holtzmann’s goggles and bounced off. The second, larger rock hit her right in the temple and caused her to stagger to the ground. A lethal looking ghost flew right at her. Erin destroyed it with one shot, and ran forward to shield Holtzmann. The blond woman was trying to stagger to her feet, but kept falling to the ground. Erin had a sudden vision of her nightmare, of broken goggles on the ground.

The ghosts rushed towards Erin, who braced herself to fight a losing battle. But when the ghosts approached Erin, they suddenly stopped.

For a second the entire subway station was quiet. The ghosts hung in midair, and Erin realized the humans had stopped throwing rocks. She glanced around and found both groups, human and ghost, staring at her.

“What -” She began, only to be cut off by the possessed humans racing by her. The humans had all leaped off the subway station and were racing further into the tunnels. When they were out of sight the ghosts all turned and in a rush of blue light, streamed towards the tunnels as well. Erin was too shocked to let off any blasts from her shotgun.

“What was that?” Abby asked, coming to stand next to Erin and looking into the tunnel, where the faintest blue light was quickly vanishing.

“I don’t - I don’t know,” Erin said, staring off into the tunnel in confusion. A groan on the ground reminded her that there were more important things at stake. “Holtzmann!” She bent down to help her up. She saw the blood pouring over the younger woman’s temple and felt alarm begin to kick in. “We have to get you to the ER, now.”

“I’m fine,” Holtzmann slurred. She attempted to focus on Erin, but instead addressed the thin air next to her. “I’ve had concussions ‘fore and I never needed to go to the ER.”

“Then you clearly weren’t thinking straight,” Patty said, looping one of Holtzmann’s arms around her shoulders, while Erin took the other arm.

“Ha -” Holtzmann giggled. “Thinking straight. When have I ever thought st-“

“Alright, come on,” Abby said, leading the group. “Let’s get out of here.” She took one look back at the now empty subway platform and shook her head. “I don’t get it. Why would anyone want to be possessed by a ghost?”

*

_A flash of brown amongst green._

_So very breakable and yet so very brave._

_A creature who freely went where only the unwilling had ever tread._

_That was the one._


	4. Chapter 3

Erin stared out the firehouse window, sipping her first cup of coffee for the new day. It was 3 AM, and she had gotten only two hours of sleep. She had hoped that the strain of the past few days would tire her out and make her sleep heavy and dreamless, but it seemed she wasn’t going to have any luck.

Her friends were getting more and more worried about her, but what was she supposed to say? _Yeah, I’m having freaky, stress related dreams thanks to all the stuff we’ve been through. But really, I’m fine._ That would just make them worry even more. Erin had gotten used to belonging to a group that accepted and loved her. She didn’t want them to start looking oddly at her just because she was having a few nightmares.

She rubbed her tired face in her hands, wondering if she should take a crack at her work to kill a few hours. If she was smart, she’d go back into the spare room and pretend to get a few more hours of sleep, so she wouldn’t have to face any awkward questions in the morning. But she couldn’t stand lying there, staring up at the ceiling, repeats of her dreams running through her head. Every time she tried to puzzle them out, to understand them, she just ended up with more questions. Dreams of a dead earth, of a defeated New York, of herself going through the portal after Abby. It didn’t take a genius to realize that she was worried about her city and her friends. But why those dreams? They were so detailed. Not only that, but she remembered these nightmares after she woke up. They were unlike any of her other dreams, which were hazy and vanished when she woke.

A loud bang made her jump, and she turned to see Holtzmann strolling into the lab. Erin sighed as she watched the younger woman walk to her lab table.

“The doctors said to get plenty of rest,” Erin said.

“I’ve slept four hours every night this week. It’s weird and I hate it,” Holtzmann said, picking up a blowtorch. “If something was wrong with me, you’d know by now.” Her forehead had a dark row of stitches against it, the only remaining proof of their confrontation in the subway. Though they had gone back and combed the subway station from top to bottom a few days after Holtzmann’s concussion, they hadn’t found anything. They hadn’t really thought they would though - there had been enough time for someone to remove any evidence from the place.

Holtzmann let the blowtorch give off a hissing flame, drawing Erin out of her thoughts. “What are you doing up?”

“I just…thought I’d get started on the work for the day,” Erin said, trying to appear excited rather than sleep deprived.

“Uh huh.” Holtzmann walked closer to her, the blowtorch still giving off flames. Erin scooted back, trying to prevent her jacket from lighting on fire. Holtzmann crouched down to where Erin sat, staring deeply into her eyes. Erin felt her heart rate pick up.

“You’ve had 6 hours of sleep in the last four days,” Holtzmann announced, straightening up. Erin felt oddly disappointed for some reason.

“How did you know that?” she asked.

Holtzmann shrugged. “One of my many, many gifts. Why have _you_ been avoiding your bed?” She waggled her eyebrows, her tone making the question seem much more bawdy that it should have been. Erin felt her heart rate speed up again. She looked down at her lap so Holtzmann wouldn't see her blushing. She felt annoyed at herself. Stupid body, pumping blood into her cheeks and speeding up her pulse.

“I’ve just been working. Getting so much done.” She gave off a weak chuckle and took another huge gulp of coffee. “I couldn’t sleep I was so excited.”

“Yeah, I’m not buying that,” Holtzmann said. “You look like hell. And not the cool, green, ghost infested hell.” Erin shuddered at the mention, remembering her dream. Holtzmann’s eyebrows shot up. “I knew it. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just let it go.” Erin got up to take her coffee cup to the sink, but Holtzmann followed her, making the blowtorch _hiss_ annoyingly. “Tell.” _Hiss_. “Me.” _Hiss._ “What’s.” _Hiss._ “Wrong”. _Hiss._

The final flame nearly lit Erin’s hair on fire and she finally lost the small remains of her patience. She grabbed Holtzmann’s gloved hands, which were holding the blowtorch, and shoved them away. The force of the shove made Holtzmann stumble backwards, looking surprised. Erin immediately regretted it, seeing the hurt on Holtzmann’s face. No matter how annoyed she had been, Holtzmann had genuinely been trying to help. Even if she had nearly lit Erin on fire.

“Holtzmann, I’m sorry.” Erin took a step forward, but the hurt look remained on Holtzmann’s face. If Erin wanted to fix this, she knew she’d actually have to make a bigger gesture than “sorry”. She signed and sat back down on the stool again. “I’m just tense because I’ve been having these…these weird, constant nightmares.”

The hurt look on Holtzmann’s face faded as she realized that Erin was actually confessing to her. She sat down next to her, finally putting the blowtorch down. “That’s why you’ve been doing the endless all nighters?”

Erin nodded, running her fingers through her hair. She wished she could just leave it at that, but she knew Holtzmann wouldn’t let her. Plus, if Holtzmann didn’t get the info out of her, Patty or Abby would. If she was going to confess, she might as well get it all out now.

“I have these awful nightmares. Of being back in the portal, of ghosts invading New York and winning this time. Of us not being able to stop them.” She swallowed hard, the dreams inadvertently flashing through her mind again. “Can you imagine what would have happened if Rowan had won?”

“Wait a minute, are you saying that a dude who delusions of superiority and a ghost army isn’t the best recipe for a world leader?”

Erin glared at her and Holtzmann shrugged. “Yeah, no I get it. The world would have gone straight to hell - literally - if Rowan had won, but he didn’t. We won. You have to remember that.”

“Doesn’t make the worrying go away,” Erin mumbled.

“Well duh,” Holtzmann said. Erin looked up in surprise. “Erin, we’ve been dealing with some messed up shit lately. Fun shit, but still, it’s a mindfuck. It’s no wonder all that shit and stress decided to set up camp in your brain. But you have to tell us about it,” Holtzmann said,” so we can help you through it.”

Erin felt hope staring to rise in her chest, but she still had to ask, “What if the dreams don’t stop?”

“Then we’ll come up with a game plan to help you,” Holtzmann said. “But you can’t just sit around and stay up all night and OD on coffee and not talk to anyone. You’re not really doing yourself any favors there.”

Relief hit Erin so strongly that she wavered on the stool, unsteady for a moment. Holtzmann reached out to steady her, and Erin kept her head down so that the blond woman wouldn’t see her tears.

Her parents had disbelieved her and sent her to therapy for years for a problem that hadn’t even existed. It had been drilled into her for years by the world that if she wanted to be left alone and thought of as normal, she had to follow the party line and eventually make herself think she had been wrong and unhinged. It wasn’t until she and Abby crashed back into each other’s lives years later that Erin had finally, finally realized she wasn’t delusional.

But now she actually did have a problem, a real problem, dealing with the fallout of the past few months. The Ghostbusters had stood by her earlier because they all knew that ghosts were real and she wasn’t delusional. But it wasn’t up until that moment that she realized she had expected her new family to leave her because she actually did have a problem this time.

Erin wiped her eyes and looked up at Holtzmann, who looked throughly unnerved by her crying.

“I’m not good with this,” Holtz said. “Oh!” She patted her pockets, muttering to herself, until she withdrew an oily rag. “Ta da!” She held it out and Erin gently dabbed her face with it. It did more harm than good, getting oily smudges on her face, but she was too touched by the gesture to turn it down.

“Thank you Holtzmann,” she said. She blew her nose on the rag, only to accidentally inhale oil, making her lightheaded for a minute.

“Eh, ’s no big deal,” Holtzmann said. Suddenly she jumped off the stool, looking as though she had just had an idea. “If you want, we could go get the cot and drag it out here. I could wake you up when you start looking like you’re dealing with a Rowan Redux situation.”

“Well…” Erin hesitated. She was still a little shy about letting Holtzmann help. But if Holtzmann could wake her up before she got too deep into her nightmares, maybe it would help her calm her down enough to actually try to sleep instead of worrying. “I suppose…” She glanced around, but Holtzmann had already left the room while she was still thinking, and Erin heard the sounds of metal scrapping the ground.

Holtzmann came back into the room, dragging the cot with one hand, a pillow with another, and with a blanket tied around her shoulders like a cape. She tossed the cot down on the floor, causing it to collapse again. After a few moments of fiddling with the cot, swearing, and Erin talking Holtz out of using the blowtorch on the bed, they had it fixed. Mostly. It still sagged a little in the middle, but Erin would take whatever she could get at the moment. Holtzmann untied the blanket from her shoulders and threw it over Erin, whose vision was obscured by the white blanket. She wondered how she had been talked into this.

“Ha! You look like a ghost,” Holtzmann chuckled as Erin fought to free herself from the blanket. Erin heard her throwing the pillow down onto the cot. There was a sudden loud crash as the cot collapsed again. “Ah shit.”

 _It’s not exactly the best plan we’ve ever had_ , Erin thought as she lay down on the cot a few minutes later. She could hear Holtzmann’s feet swishing and the hiss of a blowtorch as the engineer danced around the lab. _But it's not exactly the worst plan either._


	5. Chapter 4

When Erin woke up the next day, it was with the realization that she had actually gotten some sleep without a nightmare waking her up. It was also with the realization that she hadn’t actually gotten up in the morning, but rather had slept through it and was now just waking up at 2 PM. She staggered to her feet, swaying slightly. Why had everyone let her sleep in? How come she hadn’t woken up at one of the many explosions Holtzmann normally created throughout the day? 

On the nearest tabletop, she spotted a note.

Hey,

Went out for a food run. Patty and Abby are at the NYC library getting more books on why someone would want a ghost to get all chummy and possess them. They were super happy to see you sleeping, BTW. Told them you had something you wanted to talk about, but zipped my lips after that.

Be back in forty, 

The ever fabulous and incredibly talented Holtzmann 

P.S. Kevin’s at the Hide and Seek finals. We told him you said ‘Good luck’.

Erin put down the note, feeling relief. It sounded as though Patty and Abby would be out of the lab for a few more hours, allowing the physicist some time to think. Erin knew that they’d probably be just as understanding as Holtzmann, but Erin wanted to take an hour or two to work out what exactly she’d say.

Thanks to getting more than an hour of sleep a day, she found herself considerably more relaxed. Maybe she had taken some of the stress out of her dreams by talking to Holtzmann. Now that she didn’t actually think all of her friends were going to desert her, she was able to breathe again. In a half hour she was showered, changed, and was working on calculations while eating breakfast. (She adored Holtz, but didn’t trust her when it came to food runs. The odd blonde scientist also had an odd taste in food. Whenever Erin picked up something Holtz had ordered, she didn’t know what she was going to taste.)

A few minutes later, there was a timid knock on the door. Erin looked up, expected to see Holtzmann balancing a stack of pizza boxes or Kevin holding up a 1st Place trophy, but instead she saw a young woman standing by the door. She was playing with the ends of her long brown hair, and her eyes darted around the lab nervously. 

“I’m sorry, I tried to call but nobody answered…” the girl said. “I’ve just, I’ve think I’ve got a ghost, and I don’t think it likes me.” She took off her jacket, revealing long, deep scratches up and down her arms. 

*

The girl sat perched on the edge of the stool while Erin dabbed antibiotic on her arms. While the girl had tried to clean her wounds, she’d hadn’t exactly been keen to spend a lot of time in her house. She had told Erin she suspected that the ghost was still there. 

“I originally got suspicious a few nights ago,” she said. “I was hearing things rattling around in my living room, stuff kept getting misplaced even though I knew where I stored it, and I kept getting these weird chills.” She shrugged her shoulders. “But I thought maybe I was just nervous, after, you know, what happened a few months ago.” She shuddered. 

I was by that hotel when all the ghosts appeared. I was just eating at a restaurant, and then the sky got all dark, and all of a sudden these things just appeared out of nowhere…” The woman stopped, breathing hard for a minute. “I’m been a little bit jumpy since.”

“Trust me,” Erin said. “You’re not the only one.” She smiled at the girl, who seemed to get bolder at the encouragement.

“Anyway, I didn’t want to call you guys unless I knew for sure there was a ghost. I mean, how stupid would that seem? I call and it turns out my air condition was just screwed up, and those noises I was hearing were just the building settling or something.” 

“So last night, when I heard the noises, I decided to prove to myself that it wasn’t anything supernatural.” She lifted her scratched arms. “It didn’t go too well.” 

“Do you know anything about your house?” Erin said. “If we can find out anything about the people who lived there before you, we can figure out what type of ghost we’re dealing with.”

“I don’t actually think the ghost is there because of my house. The girl ducked her head, her brown hair swinging down to hide her face. “I’m a photographer. I like to cover old New York buildings for my pictures.”

Erin could see where this was going.

“My job was way better before I knew there were dozens of dead people hanging around the places I photograph. But I promised a few pictures to a gala that’s opening soon, so I had to keep working.” The girl gave an awkward chuckle. “I was photographing this beautiful old mansion, right on the outskirts of the city. I kept getting weird chills and hearing these strange creaking nosies. I left the mansion pretty fast after that.” 

I thought the ghost would stay in its home. When I got back to my house and kept hearing all the sounds, I thought maybe I was just being paranoid. But then last night,” she leaned forward, and so did Erin, “I saw it.” 

There was a loud, sudden bang and the two women jumped back from each other. Erin turned to see Holtzmann coming in the door, pizza in her arms and a frown on her face. 

“Holtzmann!” Erin stood up, feeling strangely flustered for some reason. 

Holtzmann held out a pizza box, her eyes still fixed on the new woman. “I got you pepperoni,” she said. Erin flipped open the box to see a regular looking pepperoni pizza, instead of one of Holtzmann’s food creations.

“Thank you,” Erin said, chuckling nervously. She glanced from the young woman to Holtzmann, trying to figure out why she was so nervous. The girl didn’t seem to be any better, shrinking away from Holtzmann’s gaze.

“Yeah well, I thought you could use some food after last night,” Holtzmann said, finally glancing at the physicist. However, Erin saw her shoot a glance back at the mystery woman, who was looking at them curiously.

“We had a late night!” Erin said to the woman, chuckling nervously again. Then she realized how that sounded. “Talking!” she added in a near scream. “Anyway…” she said, trying to distract everyone before she sank into the floor from embarrassment. This is my colleague Dr. Jillian Holtzmann. Holtzmann, this is…”

“Violet,” the girl said. She held out a nervous hand to Holtzmann who promptly ignored it, and instead went to one of her lab tables. She sat down, fiddling with some wires and glaring at Violet. 

“Violet was just telling me about a ghost attack that happened last night,” Erin said. 

“Was she now?” Holtzmann said, her eyes narrowed. 

“This ghost seems pretty violent,” Erin said. “I had to bandage Violet up -“ She immediately regretted those words, as Holtzmann’s eyes narrowed even further. The wires in her hands sparked. 

“So, I’m thinking we should try and catch this ghost!” Erin said, valiantly trying to cut through the tension. 

“We have to wait for Patty and Abby to get back,” Holtzmann said. 

“We can still do a consultation,” Erin said. While all four women caught the ghosts together, they had recently become so stretched out with work that it wasn’t uncommon to go in groups of two to hauntings. Two Ghostbusters was usually enough to determine if someone was actually being haunted and if so, how strong the ghost was. 

Violet spoke up, looking nervously at Holtzmann. “If you’re too busy to go, I don’t mind if it’s just Dr. Gilbert -“ 

Holtzmann flung down her work, a small ‘Bang” coming up from where the wires hit the table. “Oh no,” she said, still staring at Violet, “I’m coming.” 

She made her way to the gear room, slamming the door behind her. Erin turned from Violet to the door, grinning nervously. “That’s…great. It’s gonna be great. It’s gonna be fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun bit of trivia: I gave Violet her name because of her shyness. When trying to figure out what to name her character, the phrase "Shrinking Violet" jumped into my mind. 
> 
> Also, jealous Holtzmann and awkward Erin are sooooo much fun to write.


	6. Chapter 5

An hour later, Erin, Violet, and an incredibly bad tempered Holtzmann had made their way out to Violet’s house. A small house in a suburb outside of the city, Violet’s home looked welcoming and cozy and quite unlike a place where you’d suspect a ghost to lurk.

“All right, here’s the deal,” Holtzmann said, surprising Erin. While Holtzmann always spoke her mind, she seemed content to let Erin or Abby lead the team most of the time. “We’ll go in, poke around a bit, found out just how dangerous this ghost is, and we’ll be outta here in a half hour.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Violet asked. The scientists were wearing their jumpsuits and holding their proton sidearms, but that was it. The sidearms and jumpsuits were simply for protection if a ghost lashed out - nobody normally busted anything on a consultation.

“Don’t worry about us honey, we’ll be in and out.” Holtzmann walked past Violet, not even looking at her. “Then we’ll meet up with Abby and Patty, and have this ghost busted before dinner.” She looked at Violet, giving her a sardonic smile. “With any luck, you’ll barely even remember we were here.”

“You should probably stay here,” Erin added. “We don’t want the ghost to harm you a second time.” She touched Violet’s arm slightly, and gave her a small smile.

“Yeah, this is a job for the Ghostbusters,” Holtzmann said. “We can handle this.” She had her arms crossed and was tapping one booted foot against the pavement, watching Erin and Violet. Erin got the message and started to walk towards Violet’s home.

“Uh…okay,” Violet said. She gave them a little wave as they headed towards the house. “Good luck!”

Erin waited until Violet was out of hearing range to speak to Holtzmann. “What is your problem?!”

Holtzmann stared at her, looking moody and surprised and guilty all at once. “What?”

“Why are you acting like this?” Erin asked. “Violet’s really nice and really scared, and you’ve been treating her so badly all day.”

Holtzmann frowned, her pace increasing. “She just rubs me the wrong way.”

Erin shook her head. “I don’t get you Holtzmann. When I told you about my problems last night, you were so sweet.”

“I wasn’t sweet,” Holtzmann muttered. “I was an emotional badass.”

“And then Violet comes in today, hurt by a ghost, and you snap at her the entire time. How can you be so nice to me, and then so mean to her?”

Holtzmann looked uncomfortable for a moment. “I was just…I don’t…Fine,” she sighed. “I’ll apologize to Violet. Will that make you happy?”

“Well, yes, but…I also want to know what’s bothering you, Holtz,” Erin said. “You’re not a mean person, I know you aren’t. I want to know why you don’t like Violet so much.”

Holtzmann paused right outside Violet’s front door and stared at Erin wide eyed.

“I care about your problems too,” Erin said gently. “This isn’t just a one-way street. If something’s wrong, I want to help.”

They started at each other, silent. For a second Erin thought Holtzmann was going to speak, and then Violet called out. “The front door’s unlocked!”

Erin realized they had been standing in front of the door for a long time, just staring at each other.

“Great. Thanks!” She waved a hand to show she had heard her, and when she turned back, the front door was already open. Holtzmann had already gone inside, leaving Erin to follow.

She wandered into the house, which was small but clean looking. Erin looked around for traces of the damage Violet had told her the ghost had done, but she couldn’t find any. She frowned; she hadn’t ever heard of a ghost picking up after itself. She wandered further into the house, her proton shotgun out.

“Holtzmann?” She called out, wondering where her coworker was. When nobody answered, she felt her stomach drop. “Holtzmann, please answer me. This is not funny. I think something’s seriously -“

A loud crash to Erin’s left sent her sprinting down the hallway. She saw an open door and without hesitation dashed through it. It led her to a small wooden flight of stairs that she rushed down, ending up in a small concrete basement.

“Holtzmann?” She turned around in circles, looking all over for the inventor. But there was no one. Suddenly there was a slam and she looked up to see the basement door shut tight. A clicking sound let her know that the lock had been turned. She was reminded horribly of Gertrude Aldridge.

She raised her proton shotgun a little higher, peering into the shadowy corners of the room.

“Holtzmann?” she called out again. “Where -”

She fell to her knees as a wave of pain slammed into her head. It was so strong that for a second she taught she had actually been physically hit with something. When she looked around, though, she saw that nothing and no one had been around to hit her.

“Holtz -“ she croaked, trying to call out for help. She heard a ringing in her ears, enhancing the pain in her head. Flashes of blue and green shot through her closed eyelids, making her realize she wasn’t alone. When she opened her eyes, she saw dozens of ghosts swirling around her in a multi-colored vortex. She tried to raise her shotgun, but the pain caused her to drop it instead.

It took her a second to realize the ghosts were all murmuring something, the same name over and over. “Gozer.” They chanted it repeatedly, as though it were an incantation.

_She kicked the broken goggles aside, causing them to hit the limp body of their former owner. The blonde lay motionless, her face blank and eyes closed. The engineer had fought the hardest, but in the end she had been overpowered easily._

_She turned away from the body, bored with battles already fought. As the demon god walked away, she caught a glimpse of her face in a pool of blood._

_It was Erin. She smiled at her reflection and spoke in a voice that was higher and more sinister than her normal voice._

_“You should be honored. I’ve searched for a long, long time for the perfect host.”_

_Images flashed through her mind: of a young Erin being stalked by a ghost, of Erin fighting back against ghosts, for Erin flying through the portal after Abby, of sending Rowan into the abyss._

_And Gozer seeing her, seeing all that, and choosing her. When he got out, when he got free and remade the earth in its image, Erin would be the body he wore as he cleansed the earth._

Erin woke from her vision with a gasp. The ghosts were still chanting, her head was still pounding, and the ringing was still in her ears. But now she knew who it was all for.

She raised her head, trembling, as the ringing got louder. A portal ripped open from the concrete wall, sending debris flying everywhere.

 _Please let something hit me_ , Erin thought. _Please let something hit me and knock me out. Don’t let this happen. Please don’t let this happen._

Out of the portal a pure white hand stretched out. It reached straight for Erin.

“Erin!” Despite the scream, Erin didn’t turn away from the portal and the hand. She wanted to run, but felt glued to the ground. The hand continued to grope for her, and she simply stared at it, swaying on her feet.

A red beam of light flew past her and struck the palm of the hand. It didn’t retreat, but closed in pain and an unearthly roar shook the house to its foundations.

“Erin!” Someone was shaking her shoulder, but she gazed at the closed white fist. “Erin we have to get out of here now.” When she didn’t respond, someone grabbed her around the waist and starting hauling her away from the portal. The white hand reached out again, trying to grab her. Another roar shook the foundations.

Suddenly more voices joined the noise, all screaming. Erin heard people screaming commands, she heard cries of pain, and more voices wailing for the ghostly creature trying to break through the portal.

“Erin! Snap out of it!” Her gaze was suddenly twisted away from the portal as she was spun around to see Holtzmann looking at her. The blonde gave her a shake, staring fearfully at her.

“Holtzmann?” she mumbled, feeling slow and sluggish.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Holtzmann said, continuing to drag Erin away. Now that her gaze was away from the portal, Erin felt herself beginning to snap out of her trance. She stumbled to the bottom of the stairs with Holtzmann, trying to ignore the roars behind her.

“Oh shit,” Holtzmann muttered. Erin looked up and saw a group clustered at the top of the stairs, looking down on them. Adam and Violet were among them. The longer Erin gazed, the more faces she saw from their encounter in the subway.

The group started down the stairs, and Holtzmann backed up, dragging Erin along with her. The closer she got to the portal, the weaker Erin felt.

Holtzmann shoved Erin behind her, and gave Violet her best cheeky smile. “So we found that ghost you talked about,” Holtzmann said. “But I’m starting to think busting it wasn’t the reason you wanted us to come to the house.”

“We didn’t want _you_ to come to the house at all,” Violet said. “Gozer has no use for the one who makes weapons to wound his kind.”

Holtzmann’s smile faded. “You planned that visit for when Erin would be alone. You knew if you came to her with that sob story she’d go to help you by herself.”

Violet nodded. “We’ve been watching ever since Gozer made his intentions known. And I had the honor of preparing the host and opening the gate.” Her eyes flashed an unearthly blue. “When this world is cleansed, I will be his second in command. And all will know the name Zuul.”

Holtzmann looked to the portal, where a whole stark white arm was now sticking out. “Zuul? The one -”

“The ghost Patty kept hearing on the recordings,” Erin said, trying to steady herself on Holtzmann’s shoulder.

“Gozer is going to cleanse this world of all its filth and chaos. This world has become too corrupted, too painful to survive in anymore. He will remake it, and we will make it a paradise again. He recruited us, the ones who saw what filth this world was, to help bring about his glorious rise.”

“Annnnnnd what makes you think he’s going to let you stick around when all this “cleansing” happens?” Holtzmann asked.

“We were the faithful, and we have promised our worship only to him when he remakes the world,” Violet said. She was almost at the bottom of the stairs now.

“That’s why all those people let the ghosts possess them,” Erin said. “The ghosts aren’t fully taking possession. Humans and ghosts - they’re working together.

“By ourselves, our human minds couldn’t comprehend everything we needed to do to cross the borders of this world and the next. We let Gozer’s minions use our bodies to help bring about his glorious reign.”

“Okay, I’m trying to take this seriously,” Holtzmann said, “but it’s really hard with a guy who’s name is Gozer.”

Violet smiled, her attention fixed not on the Ghostbusters, but on the portal. “Maybe this will help you take us seriously.”

A loud, ringing cry came from the portal, and Erin turned to see the creature emerge from the portal. His body was freakishly thin, the bones standing out against the skin. Wings beat against hits back; they looked too large for the body to possibly hold up, but thrashed steadily. His eyes were red and fixed on her.

Erin managed to look at Gozer for only a second before falling to the floor. She heard Holtzmann screaming her name, and then the sounds of a scuffle. Someone turned her over, and she looked up into his eyes. She saw herself reflected in the red irises. The creature smiled, and then flew at her. She felt the creature’s body pass into hers, and then everything went black.


	7. Chapter 6

_I am here. And at last this world will be bathed in blood and the creatures of flesh will be proven weak -_

“Erin?”

_I will be the only thing this world ever worships again, and I will reduce and raise it from the dust and ash and yellow skies._

“Erin!”

_And all will fall at the feet of -_

“ERIN!”

Erin’s eyes fluttered open at Holtzmann’s cry. She heard sounds of a struggle, and Violet hissing, “Would you shut her up?”

_I am Gozer, and I hunger for this world’s destruction._

_No, I’m Erin and I lived in Michigan and taught at Columbia and hunt ghosts. I live in this world._

_We will rip the heart out of anything that dares cross us._

_No, I protect this world._

_Rise up and bathe in blood -_

_Okay, that’s just gross._

_Our first sacrifice will be the one who has slain so many of my kind._

_Sacrifice - Holtzmann!_

Erin got up quickly, leaping to her feet. She jumped up so quickly that her feet left the ground, and she hovered in the air for a second before slowly descending. She felt strength and power rush through her, in every vein of her body.

_Our form forevermore._

She winced as Gozer’s hissing voice rattled in her mind. She waited for the blow, for the moment when her body would start acting according to Gozer’s wishes. But nothing happened.

She looked down at her hands, which materialized blue and green energy, but still opened and closed on her command.

_I’m still in control._

Erin’s voice was louder than Gozer’s as she heard it in her head, and she heard him hiss in disgust and fury.

_How?_

But then she thought of all the reasons Gozer had chosen her as his host.

_I saw and survived ghosts when I was just a child. I fought beings outside of this world, with powers beyond mine and won. I crossed over into a different dimension of my own free will, and destroyed a ghost in its own dimension. I made it back to my own home safe and sound, and maybe with a few more changes than white hair._

She smiled to herself.

_You just possessed the wrong woman, you bastard._

She turned away from the glowing green portal, and saw a crowd of people standing before her. Most of them were on their knees, bowing to her. The ghosts were all floating in mid-air, their heads inclined respectively.

_Okay, I’m definitely not going to take over the world but that is pretty badass. **I’m** a badass._

Then she saw Holtzmann, being held back by Violet and a few other followers. She was trying to struggle towards Erin, but too many people were holding her arms. Violet had one hand around her mouth, presumably to keep her from calling out for Erin again. Erin saw the fear in her eyes and felt a stab of remorse for what she had put Holtz through.

_Objective 1: Get Holtzmann out of here. Objective 2: Send all these ghosts back to whatever hell hole they came form. Objective 3: Get this jackass out of my body._

Erin looked around at the group of humans all clustered together, trying to figure out the best way to get Holtzmann away from them without injuring her. She cleared her throat.

“Loyal followers. I am Gozer the…Gozerian.”

_Badass moment over._

Erin looked at Holtzmann again, and felt Gozer roar inside her. This was not going according to plan. According to his plan, he would have killed Holtzmann for her crimes against his minions and then started raining hell upon the earth by now.

_If I don’t know what to do, maybe I should take inspiration from the guy himself._

“For my first act upon this world, I will exterminate this ghost engineering…fiend.” Erin extended a hand towards Holtzmann. Everyone let go of her at once.

Holtzmann looked up into Erin’s face, her eyes wide and terrified. She was breathing hard, motionless for once.

_C’mon Holtzmann. Just take a few steps towards me…_

At that moment the basement door burst open, and everyone looked up to see Patty and Abby standing there. Erin took advantage of the distraction to grab Holtzmann by the wrist and pull the blonde to her. The group all immediately turned back to Erin, probably hoping that she would destroy Holtzmann in front of the rest of the Ghostbusters. Instead, Erin shoved the blonde behind her and turned to face the group.

_Alright, ghostly powers. Activate._

She held up her hands, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did.

_How the hell do I use these things?_

Violet was staring at her, her eyes starting to narrow in suspicion. Erin shook her hands a few times, hoping they would do something. Violet started to walk towards her. She raised a hand, her eyes fixed not on Erin, but on Holtzmann. Erin realized that somehow, she was going to hurt Holtzmann. In desperation, Erin threw her hands forward, as though trying to push the air towards Violet.

Violet went flying backwards, hitting the stairs and slumping to the ground.

“Erin?” Holtzmann said from behind her. Erin turned to see confusion and hope in her face.

“Erin?” Patty and Abby said together.

“Hey guys.” Erin waved at her friends. They stared back at her in disbelief. She looked at the portal, the swarm of ghosts, the unconscious Violet lying on the stairs. “It’s a…long story. Just…just get the ghosts.”

“And what about that?!” Patty screamed, pointing at the portal swirling behind Erin. Ghosts were still streaming out of it.

Erin turned around and focused on it. _If Zuul could open this thing, then maybe I can close it._ “Leave it to me!”

Patty and Abby, bless them, turned their attention from Erin to the confused and furious group of ghosts and possessed humans. A few tried to run at Erin, but she pushed them back. This time the wave of energy that rushed from her palms was even more powerful. Several people went sailing back, hitting the wall. Holtz grabbed the side arm dangling at her waist and shot a few rounds into the air, clearing it of any ghosts near the two.

“You think you can shut that?” Holtzmann said, looking at the portal which was still spewing out ghosts.

“I think I might have enough power to do so,” Erin said. She concentrated, trying to visualize the portal getting smaller and smaller.

“If you could hurry it up that would be great, “ Holtzmann said, trying to shoot as more ghosts flew out of the portal.

“I’m working on it!” Erin said, her body starting to tremble with the strain. For a moment she thought nothing was happening, and then, so minutely she could barely see it at first, the portal began to close. She dug her feet in and tried to focus even more energy on the portal.

The ghosts were starting to come out of the portal less and less, and several ghosts were even retreating into it. It seemed they could sense they were on the losing side - their human allies were in complete disarray, the god they thought they’d be following was controlled by a human, and the Ghostbusters were shooting everywhere. Ghosts were flying through the air, leaving their human hosts behind, trying to get back into the portal before they got shot.

Erin gave one last push of energy and the portal closed. She fell back, exhausted. She would have collapsed to the floor if Holtzmann hadn’t caught her.

“Nice job Ghost Girl,” Holtzmann said.

Erin gave a weak chuckle and got to her feet. She steadied herself as Abby and Patty came rushing down the steps towards her.

“What happened?” Abby asked.

“Thought we were going on a normal consultation, actually ended up running into a bonkers cult that wanted their demon leader to possess Erin.” Holtzmann squinted at the physicist. “I think part of it took because while I know that’s Erin, I do not remember her with special portal closing powers.”

Erin sat down on the basement steps, thoroughly drained. “He’s inside, but he doesn’t have control.” Right as the words came out, she felt herself double over. Gozer’s furious attempts to take over seemed to have multiplied in strength in the past few minutes.

“What’s wrong?” Abby asked as Holtzmann rushed to kneel by Erin.

“He’s stronger,” Erin said through gritted teeth. Eventually Gozer’s attempt stopped, and she was able to sit back up. “That was close.”

“You think maybe it was cause you used all your mojo on closing the portal?” Patty said, staring down at Erin with concern.

“That’s probably it,” Abby said. “He’s got a better chance of taking over when you’re weak.”

“That’s reassuring,” Erin said, her head in her hands.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Abby said. “We’re gonna get you back to base, and figure out how to kick this asshole out.”

“We can’t just leave,” Erin said, gesturing to the unconscious humans scattered all around them. “What about them?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Patty said. “We called Rourke and Hawkins once we got to the house and saw all the weird crap going on here - they’re on their way.”

“How did you know where to find us?” Erin asked.

Holtzmann suddenly looked very interested in the ceiling. “You know what, maybe I’ll go wait for Hawkins and Rourke upstairs, let ‘em know what’s going on?”

“That’s probably not a good idea,” Erin called after her. “You really annoy them!”

“Yeah, I know. It’s great,” Holtzmann snickered as she walked up the stairs and out of sight.

“Anyways,” Patty said, staring after Holtzmann curiously, “Holtzy left us a note.” She pulled it out, clearing her throat. She read out the address, then added: “‘Consultation here, get equipment and bring it for busting. This annoying chick has got a ghost in her house and won’t stop rubbing her boobs on Erin.”

“Huh,” Erin said. “Violet was rubbing her boobs on me? I don’t think she was…”

“Might have been an over-exaggeration,” Abby said. “Holtzmann’s never been good with jealousy.”

“Jealous?” Erin snorted nervously, her heart starting to race. “Holtzmann was jealous? Over who?”

At Abby’s and Patty’s silence, Erin’s face went bright red. “Over me?”

Patty rolled her eyes. “Okay, listen, I am all for having this conversation later, but right now we’ve got about two dozen knocked out humans, government agents on their way, and a freakin’ hell demon inside you.”

“Right. You’re right,” Erin said.

“Okay, good,” Abby said. “Cause I want to get back to base and figure out what exactly is inside of you, and how we can send it back to the dimension it came from.”

“Yes. Good plan. Smart plan. But first, I think I’m going to go check up on Holtzmann, make sure she’s alright,” Erin said, backing towards the stairs. “I’ll be right back. It’ll just take a sec.” She sprinted up the stairs.

Patty looked at Abby in exasperation. “I told you we shoulda just put them in a locked room and let them work it out.”

*

“Holtzmann?” Erin looked around the small house. She didn’t see much, except for a kicked in front door that she assumed had been Abby’s and Patty’s work. She started to get a little nervous. “Holtzmann?”

“Boo.” Erin looked over to see Holtzmann sitting in a tiny kitchen, eating a sandwich.

“Did you -?”

“I’m taking a leaf out of Kevin’s book.” Holtzmann put her feet on the table. “We never got to eat that pizza back at HQ.”

“Oh yeah.” Erin sat down next to her. “Hey listen, I am really, really sorry I got you into this.”

“Eh, what’s a little kidnapping between friends?” Holtzmann said, adding more mustard to her sandwich.

“That’s the thing…” Erin said, playing with a strand of her hair. She opened her mouth, and then reconsidered. Holtzmann had said “friends”.

“Something wrong?” Holtzmann asked.

“Nothing’s wrong!” Erin said, trying to smile. It came out a little more manically she than wanted it to. “Friends are great! I love being friends! That’s totally what I came up here to say!”

“Okaaaaaay…” Holtzmann said, still looking at her curiously. “Cause it sounds like you also wanted to say something else.”

“Nope! We’re all good, buddy.” Erin chucked nervously and gave Holtzmann’s shoulder a soft punch.

 _Maybe the earth will swallow me up_ , she thought dismally.

The earth didn’t swallow her up, but a helpful distraction was created by Violet appearing out of nowhere and throwing a sofa at them.

Erin grabbed Holtzmann and tossed her to the ground before it could hit either of them. The sofa flew over the table, one end smashing into the surface of it.

“My sandwich!” Holtzmann said in horror, as her food fell to the ground. She sat up before Erin could stop her. “You monster!”

Erin grabbed her by the collar and yanked her down before Holtzmann could be hit by the now flying stereo. While Violet looked around for a third thing to maim them with, Erin stood up.

“It’s over,” she said. She held out a hand to deflect anything else that Violet might want to throw. She was certain she was strong enough now. Even though she and Gozer were still battling it out inside her mind, Erin was sure she was stronger than Violet.

“It…is…not,” Violet said, ripping a microwave straight out of the wall and hurling it at Erin. The scientist batted it aside without even trying. “You think we’ve lost just because some ghosts turned coward and a few humans are going to jail? We can always get more followers. There are plenty of people who think this world is a cesspit, and there are thousands - millions - of ghosts who want a second chance in this world.”

Violet leaped at Erin’s throat, hands outstretched. Erin grabbed her by the shoulders and held her away, trying to restrain her. Violet smiled, staring into Erin’s eyes.

“He’s still in there. All you have to do is let your guard down for one minute, just one, and he’ll be out forever.” Inside, Gozer roared his assent.

Before Erin could say anything, Violet placed her feet on Erin’s stomach and pushed off, doing a backflip through the air.

“Well,” Holtzmann said, getting up, “she’s got some issues.”

The two women raced through the house and out the front door, where Violet was running down the driveway. She jumped through the air, slamming down on a car and flattening its roof, before leaping so high that Erin lost sight of her.

Rourke and Hawkins stumbled out of their now broken car, staring up into the sky after Violet.

“Hey guys,” Holtzmann said, giving the agents a wave. “See you met the crazy psycho demon that’s fueled by its hatred of humanity.”

“I hate ghosts,” Rourke muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gave Rourke and Hawkins a cameo cause I love those guys and how annoyed they get with the Ghostbusters, especially Holtzmann.


	8. Chapter 7

“Erin Gilbert, you are the most powerful person in the world right now,” Abby said in an awed voice.

“And the most dangerous,” Erin added.

The most powerful and dangerous person in the world was currently sitting in the Ghostbusters HQ, dressed in her MIT sweatshirt and daisy patterned rain boots.

She had hoped that making herself comfortable would help heighten her resistance to Gozer, but it didn’t seem to be working. It was like she had put up a wall between the two, but he was constantly throwing himself at it, trying to knock it down. It was still sturdy, but she could tell the foundations were loosening.

“Listen, we’re gonna fix this, okay?” Patty said in her most comforting voice. She raised her hand. “Now let’s try slapping you again.”

“Fifth time the charm you think?” Holtzmann said, looking up from her workbench. She frowned at Patty, which was a rare move for the blonde.

“Listen, I don’t have any better ideas.” Patty said. “This is the only thing we know for sure worked.”

“It worked on Rowan,” Holtzmann said. “Who was a punk ass who would have cried if he stubbed his toe. Erin’s got a very old, very pissed off god in her. I don’t think he’s coming out of there just because you slap him a few times.”

“Maybe we should try it one more time,” Erin suggested.

Patty shook her head. “No, Holtzy’s right. This isn’t working.”

Erin nodded, dejected. “I just want him out of me,” she said, crossing her arms uncomfortably.

“And we will,” Abby said, taking leftovers out of the freezer. “But with a little less slapping. In the meantime, you should eat something. You need to keep your strength up.” She looked at Holtzmann. “You got anything?”

“I’m trying to create something that will suck the ghost out.”

“Does it work?” Erin asked.

“Yeah, but only if you want most of your internal organs taken out as well.”

“Maybe we’ll save that idea for last,” Abby said, rummaging around in the fringe of more take-out.

“That isn’t funny,” Erin said.

“No, of course not,” Abby said, the smile sliding off her face immediately. “I shouldn’t have -”

“No, I mean…maybe you should use Holtzmann’s device on me.”

“WHAT?” Patty screamed as Holtzmann lost control of the device’s nozzle in her shock. It flew everywhere, knocking things over as Erin continued talking.

“I’ve seen what will happen if Gozer gets control. He’ll will destroy everything. And he’ll use me to do it.”

Abby slammed a take-out container down so hard that rice burst out and ran everywhere. “There is no way we’re risking your life like that.”

“Baby, if you think we’re even gonna let you near that thing, you’re dead wrong.” Patty winced. “Pun not intended.”

“Exactly,” Kevin said, appearing out of nowhere to grab his food. Then he looked around. “What are we talking about?”

Erin sighed, not even bothering to ask where he’d been. “A god possessed me and wants to take over the world with my body, but I’ve been holding him off because I’ve got some kind of supernatural resistance.”

Kevin nodded. “Cool, cool.” He grabbed his take-out container, and walked away, calling, “By the way, we won the Hide and Seek finals, thanks for asking.”

They all stared after him for a moment before Abby spoke up. “We’ll buy him a cake in congratulations.”

*

Despite everyone staying at headquarters, the group had insisted that Erin use the spare cot. She wasn’t actually resting, as she didn’t think she could possibly sleep now. But she was trying to sit and conserve her energy.

“You’ll need to keep your strength up if you’re finding Gozer,” Abby said, for the eighth time that night. It was the only current way Erin had of resisting Gozer, and they were putting all their faith in it. So far, all their research about Zuul hadn’t given them any clues about how to destroy him or Gozer.

Abby was pouring over the previous recordings mentioning Zuul, trying to look for any hints about him. Patty was reading a huge book in some ancient text, with four more piled up next to her. Holtzman was still chasing after the runaway nozzle. All three were trying to do so quietly, because in addition to insisting that Erin get some rest, they hadn’t wanted her to be alone.

This was partly, Erin suspected, because they thought she’d do something dumb like try Holtzmann’s spirit sucking device. But also because they genuinely wanted to be there for her. It almost made her feel slightly better about the fact that a demon god was using her body as a space heater.

Abby looked up from her work and over at Erin. She must have seen something in Erin’s face, because she walked over and sat down next to her.

“So how you doing?”

“Eh, fine. A little tired, craving some pasta, got a god that wants to destroy the world inside me.” Erin chuckled, trying to make light of the situation.

“You know, you’re not the only one who’s been through this.” Abby said. “I mean, it wasn’t exactly the same. Rowan was a baby who got knocked out by one slap, but it still wasn’t fun.”

Erin stared. In the shock of everything, she had forgotten that Abby that had been possessed too. “Oh Abby I can’t believe I forgot -“

Abby waved her off. “Stop. I’m didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that I know how much it sucks.”

Erin crossed her arms over herself. “It feels like something’s crawling inside me. And every minute it burrows itself in deeper and deeper… I just…I want it out and no matter how hard I try…”

Abby squeezed Erin’s hand, and held onto it. “This isn’t your fault, Erin.”

Erin scoffed disbelievingly. “If I had told you guys about the dreams sooner…”

“Hey.” Abby gently grabbed Erin’s chin and forced her head up, so that Erin’s eyes met Abby’s. “Look at me. It isn’t your fault. Rowan wasn’t a part of me, and Gozer isn’t a part of you.” Abby let go of Erin’s chin and looked saddened. “We’re just the convenient playthings they want to destroy people with.”

Erin looked down at her lap. “You got Rowan out before you could hurt anyone too badly. Nobody got really hurt.” she said quietly, looking over at Holtzmann. “But Gozer doesn’t want to come out to play as easily.”

“Okay, first of all, I nearly tossed Holtzmann out a window. In what world does that qualify as “Nobody getting really hurt”? And I think you’re forgetting that I didn’t get Rowan out,” Abby said. “Patty did.” She squeezed Erin’s hand again. “A Ghostbuster saved me, and we’re going to save you. All you have to do is sit back, let us do our research,” there was a thump in the background as Holtzmann ran after her invention, “and don’t go near Holtzmann’s weird ghost sucking machine.”

“Yeah, probably a good idea,” Erin said. They watched Holtzmann make a running dive for the nozzle and miss, bellyflopping to the floor.

“I’ll get the first-aid kit,” Abby said.

“I think I only broke a rib or two,” Holtzmann said, still lying on the floor.

“Uh, guys?” Patty interjected. She was looking at her laptop and frowning. “We have a problem.”

“Of course we do,” Erin sighed.

“There’s tons of ghost sightings,” Patty said. “And it’s not just your typical ghosts. These ghosts are mad as hell. They’re way more violent than normal. Three people are already in the hospital.”

The group gathered around Patty’s laptop as she played a news footage of one of the ghost attacks. It was in Central Park; they could see numerous ghosts flying around in the video. One of the ghosts was flinging a screaming man around, viciously shaking him. Erin was reminded of a dog shaking a chew toy.

Patty paused the video just as the ghost tossed the man out of frame and turned to the camera, snarling. “That dude went to the hospital with a broken collarbone and a dislocated arm.”

“This is Violet,” Erin said. “I know it. She’s trying to draw us out.”

“It doesn’t matter -” Abby said, shaking her head. “We can’t just let this happen. We have to try and stop it.”

Erin nodded, and started walking to the equipment room, but Abby grabbed her shoulder. “We have to stop it, but you should stay here.”

“You want me to stay behind? While half of New York goes to hell in a hand basket and you guys walk into what is very obviously a trap?”

“Violet and Zuul want you,” Abby reminded her. “If Gozer gets out, then more than just half of New York will be in danger.”

“She might not like us, but she ain’t setting these ghosts loose to bring us into a trap,” Patty said.

“This is exactly what she’s counting on,” Holtzmann said, looking uncomfortable. “She knows you would never let us go alone. So you have to let us go alone.”

“Absolutely not!” Erin said.

“Erin, if you don’t stay here, then you could hurt people,” Abby said. “You might even end up hurting us. Gozer’s getting stronger. You said so yourself.”

“But I -” Erin said, trying to see a way out of the logical trap she had just walked into.

“We know you want to protect us. But the best way to keep us safe is to stay here.”

Erin nodded, sitting back down on the cot again. “Yeah, okay. I get it.” She stared at her hands, not wanting anyone to see the blatant pain on her face.

“And meanwhile, I will take your place,” Kevin said, walking into the room.

All the Ghostbusters looked at each other.

“No.”

“What if you hurt your face?”

“Even though I’d think it’d be fun to see, absolutely not.”

“Sweetie, you just stay here and help Erin, okay?”

“Why, what’s going on with Erin?”

*

Once the Ghostbusters had persuaded Kevin that they needed him to help Erin, they retreated to the gear room. Erin could hear their murmured voices coming from behind the door, making plans and figuring out which equipment to bring. She sat on the cot, feeling defeated. Not only had she helped make a massive mess, her friends now had to clean it up without her. Inside, Gozer chuckled. Even if he wasn’t getting out yet, he was delighted at her pain.

“Hey.” Erin looked up at Holtzmann’s voice. The blonde had changed into her jumpsuit, and was holding a large bag. “I made you a care package.” She shifted her feet uncomfortably. “You know, since we won’t be back for a few hours.”

“Holtz, that’s…” Erin took the bag, touched.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Holtzmann looked at her feet a second longer, than launched forward and hugged Erin. “Keep that big ol’ demon out of your brain until we get back, okay?”

Erin chuckled, leaning into the hug. “I promise.”

“We gotta go,” Abby said gently, as Holtzmann let go of Erin. “Things are getting worse out there by the minute.” She looked over at Erin. “We’ll be back real soon, okay? And maybe when we bust Violet, she’ll give us some info on kicking that guy out of your brain.”

“We’ll be back soon, baby,” Patty added.

Erin smiled weakly at them. However, once the door shut and she hear the garage open, the smile slid off her face. She clutched Holtzmann’s care bag to her chest and tried to tell herself she was doing the right thing by staying behind. And then she tried to make herself believe it.

*

Kevin was a good guy, but he wasn’t that great in a crisis. At all.

The two were sitting in the lab, the TV turned on and silence between them. As the news reports filtered in, Kevin kept asking Erin why they weren't out there with the rest of the Ghostbusters. Even his very handsome face couldn’t keep Erin from wanting to scream at him.

Finally, looking for something to distract her from the desire to yell at Kevin, Erin opened up Holtz’s care package.

Inside was food, a mixtape of ‘80s music, and a little drawing of Erin beating up Gozer with a baseball bat. Erin grinned as she laid the contents out in her lap. She was just picking up a package of Hersey’s Kisses and trying to keep her brain from analyzing any deeper meaning when Kevin turned the TV up.

At first Erin thought it was just another filler news report, until she saw Patty and Abby in the background. They didn’t even seem to know they were being filmed; all their attention was on the hundreds of ghosts around them.

Erin felt sick. _There’s so many._ Inside her, Gozer roared in triumph at seeing his minions once more rising up around New York City.

The reporter spoke. “In this second ghost attack, the city has turned almost unanimously to its Ghostbusters. The group has been out on the streets over the past several hours, trying to subdue the ghosts. However, some are wondering if they can hold their ground. Not only are the ghosts even more numerous than before, but the Ghostbusters have lost one of their own. We’re getting reports that Jillian Holtzmann, the engineer of the group, was reportedly attacked and abducted by ghosts. Her group members tried to rescue her, but the number of creatures was too overwhelming.”

“Oh no,” Kevin said. “Boss, we have to do someth-“

Erin was already halfway out the door before he finished his sentence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a few days since I updated! Life got in the way, as it so often does. :)


End file.
